“I hope so,” Sophie said earnestly. “And I hope she can forgive us for sending her off with Deep and Lock in the first place.”
“Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee?” Liv grinned and cut another wedge of pancake with a particularly plump blueberry right in the middle. “Don’t worry about them. This is Kat we’re talking about—she can hold her own against anyone. I’m sure she’ll have some interesting stories to tell us when she gets back, though.”
“No doubt,” Sophie said, taking a nibble of her own pancake. “Not to change the subject but have you heard any more about Lauren? When I think about what might be happening to her…” She shivered.
“I know,” Olivia agreed soberly. “Baird’s been working with the High Council but so far they’ve determined that we can’t make any overt moves on the Scourge without having proof of where they’re holding her.” She sighed and put her plate down on the coffee table. Apparently, the thought of their unknown cousin being subjected to the probes of the AllFather took her appetite away.
“Well, have you heard any more from Aunt Abby? I don’t know how much longer we can keep what really happened to Lauren from her,” Sophie said.
“As long as possible,” Liv said grimly. “Think about it. What’s worse—thinking that your only daughter has disappeared into thin air? Or knowing that she was kidnapped by an evil, malevolent…thing for purposes too horrible to think about?”
“I see your point.” Sophie nodded sadly. “But poor Lauren! I was looking her up on-line, you know, wishing we could have gotten to know her. She looks so happy and bright in all her pictures. And did you know she dropped out of business school to start a specialty cupcake shop in Sarasota?”
“Specialty cupcakes? Mmm.” Liv nodded. “Sounds like a woman after my own heart.”
“Or a woman after your pregnant stomach.” Sophie gave her sister a little smile. “I just hope she’s all right somehow. And that someday we get to meet her.”
Olivia nodded. “I hope so too. I feel so bad for Aunt Abby, though. She still thinks Lauren is on Earth and she’s certainly sparing no expense to try and find her.”
“What do you mean?” Sophie took another nibble of her pancake.
“We got another vidcall last night. I meant to tell you earlier but I forgot,” Liv said. “Baird took it. It was a private investigator Aunt Abby hired —a specialist in finding missing persons.”
“Really? What did he want?”
Liv shrugged. “More information and Kindred cooperation. Baird said he was a real hard-ass. But he seemed to think that was a good thing. You know—like he respected him.”
Sophie sighed. “Sounds like an alpha male thing to me.”
“Of course.” Olivia smiled. “And we should both know about that, right womb-mate?”
“Yup.” Sophie allowed herself a small smile. “And to think, I used to believe an alpha male was the last thing I wanted.”
“You just had ‘alpha male’ confused with ‘asshole,’” Liv said comfortably, picking up her pancake plate again. “They don’t always have to be the same thing, you know.”
“I know that now,” Sophie agreed. “But it took Sylvan to show me.”
“And Baird to show me.” Liv sounded thoughtful. “I wonder what Kat is learning from Deep and Lock?”
Chapter Fifteen
“You’re telling me we have what kind of a bond?” Kat stared at the two of them in disbelief.
“A soul bond,” Lock said quietly. “It’s only half a bond, really—incomplete without the physical aspect.”
“Which, as you may remember, we have all agreed we’re not going to pursue,” Deep said dryly, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “It’s really not that important.”
“If it’s no big deal then why are you telling me now?” Kat demanded.
“We thought that since you’re going to see Mother L’rin again today—” Lock began.
“We thought you’d rather hear it from us than her.” Deep frowned. “Speaking of which, if we don’t get to the shuttle soon, we’re going to be late. They’re not going to let us land in the middle of the Healing Gardens again, you know. We’re going to be doing some walking to get to her.”
“Oh no, you’re not brushing this off so easily.” Kat put a hand on her hip. “I want to know more about what you two did to me and why you didn’t tell me first.”